10 Athletes Who Get Unjustified Hate

How much would we care about Batman if the Joker wasn’t around? Who would read the Superman comics if there was no threat of Lex Luthor getting in the way? What would SpongeBob SquarePants be without Plankton?

The same goes for sports—it’s the villain that makes things worth watching. It’s the villain that creates the drama. It’s the villain that turns the game into a story.

And yet sometimes, it’s important to take a step back and examine who it is we’ve chosen to be the villains.

Do we sports fans hate the right people?

Do all of the athletes on whom we focus most of our scorn and derision actually deserve it?